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This photo was taken by an unknown photographer.  He asked the Provost Guard to stand still for a photograph.  The picture was enlarged to show the faces of Caldwell and Abbott.  They did not appear “happy.”

The Sharpshooters’ unhappiness with their Colt Revolving Rifle was due to its tendency to accidentally fire from several chambers.  They finally received their Sharp’s breech-loading rifle while they were in Falmouth.

The men were probably unhappy about their weapons. They were still armed with the Colt revolving rifle.

In his diary, Wyman White wrote that the Sharpshooters while in Falmouth were required to pull a guard mount that amounted to two hours on duty and four hours off duty for five straight weeks.

Standing in front of Eddie Brook’s house in Falmouth are the Second United States Sharpshooters. (The house, also known as the O’Bannon house, use to stand in the NE corner of the junction of Warrenton Road and today’s Route 1)  . The Second United States Sharpshooters were organized in 1861.  They were known for their…

Lt. James Nelson Decker, 2nd NY Cavalry, killed-in-action at Falmouth. Lieutenant James Nelson Decker, Company D, 2nd New York (Harris Light) Cavalry, was a 22 year-old from Orange County, NY.  In the skirmish at Falmouth he “fell at the head of his men, having reached the center of the rebel camp [sic].”  His men were…

Above is an artist’s depiction of the skirmish on the night of April 18th. Two cavalry regiments (2nd New York-Harris Light and 1st Pennsylvania) were followed by the 2nd United States Sharpshooters, the 84th New York Infantry, otherwise called the “14th Brooklyn Chasseurs” New York State Militia, and Battery B of the 4th United States…

Most soldiers would write negative descriptive accounts of Stafford’s courthouse area.  The jail, opposite the courthouse, was described by a Union chaplain.  “…the jail, which stands in the middle of the road, is a miserable two-story affair, built of rough stone.  The lower story is occupied by hogs, and the upper is reached by stairs…

The newspaper, “The Norfolk Day Book of Saturday” wrote the following about the Falmouth Skirmish: “Our [Union] loss was five killed and sixteen wounded. The gallant achievement of General Augur in driving back from a strong position an enemy consisting of three regiments of infantry, four of cavalry, and two batteries of artillery, elicits the…

Lt. Charles Morton, 2nd New York Cavalry, described the events to Falmouth from his perspective: “About nightfall on Tuesday, the 15th instant, General Augur’s brigade was ordered to advance. The General and his staff preceded the troops, and arrived at Catlett’s Station late at night, after a most disagreeable ride in the darkness, through sloughs…

From the earliest days of Virginia’s history, the Clerk of the Court was one of the most important county officers. His primary responsibility was to maintain the court records and the vital statistics for his county. Until the mid-nineteenth century, the clerks were also critical to the effective administration of their jurisdictions. While most county…

On April 2nd, Sickles’ New York brigade left Maryland, opposite Stafford.  He and a large force of  “one thousand cavalry and 2,000 infantry” left Maryland by steamboat and traveled to Evansport, now called Quantico.  On April 4th, they headed south and had a brief skirmish at Aquia Church with “forty Texas scouts.”